Long-promised changes to blue box recycling in Dysart et al will land in the new year.
Council approved a plan at its March 25 meeting that will see the Haliburton landfill become the only waste disposal site in the township to accept what the Ontario government deems non-eligible blue box materials, effective Jan. 1, 2026.
Environmental manager John Watson, who left his position with Dysart at the end of March, said the change is necessary as the province prepares to complete a twoand-a-half-year plan to revamp its recycling rules.
In July 2023, the Ontario government shifted responsibility for the collection and disposal of blue box materials to producers. Dysart transitioned to this new model Jan. 1, 2024, costs incurred by collecting and hauling recyclables from residential properties, schools, and non-profit retirement and long-term care homes was taken off the township’s plate.
“The regulation aims to expand the residential blue box program to more communities, standardize acceptable blue box materials across the province, and make producers of paper products, packaging and packaging-like products 100 per cent financially and operationally responsible for the residential blue box program,” Watson said.
A multi-year agreement was struck with Circular Materials to handle the disposal of eligible recyclables dropped off at Dysart’s four landfills, which saved the township over $200,000 in 2024.
Watson said this latest deal covers non-eligible recyclables generated from commercial properties, municipal buildings, places of worship, non-profits, daycares, campgrounds and trailer parks, commercial farms and industrial businesses.
“It’s the same materials, just coming from different places. The regulations treat a pop can from a home differently than a pop can from a business,” Watson said at a June 2024 meeting.
As of Jan. 1, 2026, recycling generated by these businesses cannot be placed in the same bins as eligible sources and cannot be picked up in the same load as eligible sources.
Watson said following a two-year grace period, Circular Materials will stop collecting non-eligible recyclables on Dec. 31, 2025. If the township opted against sourcing a new company to collect these materials, people will be forced to dispose of them elsewhere, Watson said.
A five-year deal has been struck with Waste Connections Canada to haul away non-eligible recyclables. Two new drop-off locations will be available at the Haliburton landfill next year. Watson said the township will pay $720 per haul and $71.70 per metric tonne for containers and paper disposed of. He estimated the annual cost at between $20,000 and $42,000.
Minden Hills has also approved a similar contract, with non-eligible recyclables to be collected at the Scotch Line landfill. Highlands East has opted against accepting recyclables from non-eligible sources, while Algonquin Highlands is investigating its options.
When the new rules kick in, Watson said people will be asked if their recyclables are coming from a residential or commercial operation, with people directed to different drop-off locations for each.
“I recognize it seems silly, but this is the way we have to respond to a piece of legislation that provincial government has passed.
“The Haliburton landfill already has two active bays for 40-yard roll-off bins to accept materials from non-eligible sources… Dysart’s other waste disposal sites (Harcourt, Kennisis Lake, West Bay and West Guilford) do not have bays to accommodate extra bins. The capital costs to develop each site for two additional bins… makes including them not financially feasible,” Watson said.
